Toure named City skipper

Kolo Toure has been confirmed as Manchester City's new captain following the departure of Richard Dunne.

Last Updated: 09/09/09 8:51am

Kolo Toure has been confirmed as Manchester City's new captain following the departure of Richard Dunne.

The summer signing from Arsenal has taken the captain's armband for the last two games and he has now been handed the role on a permanent basis after Dunne's move to Aston Villa.

It means Toure will skipper City against his old club Arsenal on Saturday and City boss Mark Hughes believes the defender is the right man for the job.

"He has all the attributes you need to be a good captain - great enthusiasm for the game, and is nice and vocal in the dressing room and before, during and after games. And he wants to drive the club forward," said Hughes.

"We are very lucky to now have that mentality in our dressing room with a lot of the lads, who could all carry the mantle of being a football team captain. But Kolo is the better option for us.

"You see those qualities from afar but until you work closely with a player you don't get inside the way he conducts himself, and how he is as a man and as a footballer.

Good qualities

"Having worked with him for a couple of months, he has shown good qualities on and off the field, and the qualities he has shown are the ones you can use to the benefit of everybody.

"In different dressing rooms where there are not as many strong personalities, maybe you do need a captain of real vocal authority who will have a greater impact on the group.

"Kolo certainly has that quality, but our dressing room is packed full of strong characters, guys that want to win.

"There is an obligation for a captain, certain rituals in the game which are his responsibility, and which are important. But, truth be told, the qualities for which I am looking need to be shown by more than just one person, and we have that at the moment.

"That has been a big shift in that regard in comparison to the group of players we had last year."